


TOW The Office Romance

by Srcbabies



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Bisexual Richie Tozier, F/M, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Mans is Pining™️ so hard, Platonic Relationships, Soft Richie Tozier, at least I hope so?, no beta we die like men, the office reddie AU you all deserve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21673717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srcbabies/pseuds/Srcbabies
Summary: The day Richie Tozier started working here at Dunder Mifflin was the day her job became more interesting......Or: Beverly finds it very interesting that Richie brings up Eddie on one of their smoke breaks.
Relationships: Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so I wrote this mostly for myself. The office reddie au I have been craving for the longest time (since September).
> 
> I did borrow the company name from The Office of course, because I wasn't creative enough to come up with one on my own. They could be selling paper or whatever you picture while reading this, the company is not really important to the overall story anyways.
> 
> Also no beta :p
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The day Richie Tozier started working here at Dunder Mifflin was the day her job became more interesting.

As the office receptionist, Beverly didn't have the most interesting position here. She was stuck taking calls and faxing papers all day. The only relief she had from the monotonous tasks was playing solitaire on her computer. Her best game clocked in at one minute and fifty-three seconds.

It was a dull job. And she hated it.

But what she dreaded the most though, was the office parties. They had so many, she was beginning to wonder just how they actually got any work done, with all the cake eating and speech making that takes up so many hours of their day.

But she went to them anyway. Because who was she to deny getting free cake and drinks. 

Richie Tozier's first day here was the day she began to like her job. Just a smidge. 

He strutted in, his dress shirt wrinkled and tie messily tied, as if he owned the place and plopped down at the only empty desk. The one closest to hers. 

She didn't mean to stare and she definitely didn't mean for him to actually catch her staring. He winked at her before returning to his work. 

The loud ringing of her phone brought her attention away from him. She rolled her eyes and answered it, getting back to work and pushing the brief interaction to the back of her mind.

She kept herself busy throughout the day and only stopped when she felt a presence in front of her desk. She jumped slightly when she looked up and realized who it was. 

It was him. Cockily leaning his figure on her desk and smiling. 

"Are these for everybody or are you just a candy hog, little red?" he said pointing to the candy that sat in plastic containers on her desk.

"They're for everybody. Help yourself." She smiled back. Now that she had a closer look, she realized he was quite attractive. Not her type exactly, but he was good looking. 

"Thanks babe. I'm Richie by the way." He popped the candy in his mouth and extended his hand towards her.

She reciprocated the gesture and shook his hand, "Beverly, but you can call me Bev." 

They became fast friends after that. 

Richie would make it a point to visit her desk constantly to tell his god awful jokes and anecdotes, not even caring that she would roll her eyes 85% of the time. They began eating their lunch together and going out for smoke breaks after in the parking lot. They fell easily into a comfortable routine. They were practically joined at the hip, two weeks into him starting the job. 

They were out on one of their beloved smoke breaks when Richie brought up a very interesting subject.

"So," drawing out the 'o', longer than necessary, "what's the deal with Mr. Grumpy Pants?"

Beverly furrowed her brow. The name didn't confuse her, because she knew exactly who he was talking about, but she had no idea what he was asking, or why for the matter. She put out her cigarette against the outside wall, "What do you mean, Rich?"

"You know, Eddie in HR. About this tall," he held his hand about three feet above the ground. Bev lovingly rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Brown hair, doe eyes, has an ass that wo-"

She quickly interrupted before he could finish the statement, "Yeah I knew who you were talking about, christ Richie."

"Then why did you-" he looked at her questioningly.

"Because I don't know what you're asking me. Why are you asking about him?"

Of course she knew Eddie. Everyone knew Eddie. But did everyone like him? Welllll, that's debatable. She wasn't even sure that she liked him. There was a reason why everyone referred to him as Mr. Grumpy Pants. 

He was already here when she started. She learned quickly though, from their very brief and rare interactions, that he wasn't very sociable among his co-workers. 

He ate his lunch alone and only interacted with them when he needed to. When his job required it. And unfortunately, it was in the form of long presentations about ergonomics and redundant safety regulations. She yawned, thinking back to the last presentation she had to endure.

However, when he did converse with anyone here, it was always in the form of small rants. She once caught a glance of him chastising someone for not wiping down the microwave after using it. 

So yeah, the name, Mr. Grumpy Pants, was an accurate representation of Eddie.

She didn't think much about him, so why was Richie asking about him? 

"I'm just wondering Marsh," was his quick answer. 

Had she looked away, she would have missed the sudden flush on his cheeks. But she didn't. Huh. Now this was interesting.

Does Richie Tozier have a thing for Mr. Grumpy Pants?


	2. Heart Drift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie thinks back fondly to meeting Eddie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switching to Richie’s POV this time!
> 
> Also, it helps to picture the layout of the office as it is in the show (The Office - USA Version)
> 
> Enjoy!

Richie never thought he’d amount to much in his life. But he was fine with that. Mostly.

As a kid, his dream was to become a ventriloquist when he was older. But then he realized very quickly that it was fruitless. No matter how much he practiced, he couldn’t make his mouth stop moving. A disappointing discovery to make when you’re ten and running your mouth was all that you had going for you. 

Years later, his focus shifted and Richie fancied becoming a famous comedian instead. Someone who sold out the  _ entire _ room, and made everyone laugh their ass off; not leaving one dry eye in the room by the end of his set. That was the new dream. One he stuck to for a long time.

But that didn’t end up happening in the end. Instead, he became a regular salesman working for a standard company almost no one (no one he was friends with anyway) knew the name of.

And that was fine. 

Richie actually had a knack for sales though. He was good at his job, a fact that not only surprised his parents, but himself as well. Turns out, having a mouth that never shuts up really makes for a great salesman. 

That, and he was a charming motherfucker.

A charming motherfucker who happened to be in love.  _ Fuck me, right? _

For all the faults his job had, Richie couldn’t deny the fact that it was this job that brought Eddie (and Bev,  _ love you Bev! _ ) to him. Eddie Kaspbrak, or as known by the office, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Richie snickered.

He'd fallen for the short-tempered man the second he’d laid his eyes on him. And what a sight that was.

Bev had asked him if he could fetch some files stored in the Annex for her and he’d readily agreed; never being able to deny her anything, a fact she knew all too well.

All the other times when heading over there, he never caught sight of the infamous Mr. Grumpy Pants. Hell, he had even begun to think all the others were playing a prank on him and lying about there being an H.R. Rep from hell working back there. But to his surprise, the man was real… and very angry that Richie had hit him in the face with the door. 

_ Holy shit.  _

“Hey fuckface, why don’t you watch where you’re going next time! There’s a window there for a reason,”—  _ this man talked fast _ . “Didn’t you see me coming?!”

All in all, one could say his heart was gone after that.

“Sorry man, I didn’t,” He meekly replied back. And then,  _ hey… wait a minute.  _

“Hold up, didn’t  _ you _ see  _ me  _ coming? I mean, there was a window and all, dude.” Eddie’s face had scrunched up even more in anger and Richie smirked, taking in the wonderful sight. He crossed his arms and confidently leaned against the door jamb, looking down at the (adorable) man, “So, we’re pretty even-stevens then, wouldn’t you say Eds?”

Eddie huffed out, “Don’t call me that.” He briskly walked away after that, giving Richie the chance to ogle his ass. 

Yup, he was in love.

He basically floated back to his desk, sitting down with a smile on his face.  _ He was on a high after meeting the love of his life, sue him _ . He was only interrupted from his thoughts when Bev plopped down on the corner of his desk, staring at him with her brow arched. 

“What?” He asked.

“Uh, the file?” Beverly said as if it was obvious, which it was to him now,  _ shit _ . “Could you not find it?” 

“Oh, I-uh I forgot about that,” Richie felt his face heat up.  _ Double shit. _

If it was even possible, her brow arched further up her forehead. ( _ Fuck! Did she notice?) _ “Okay then, thanks for nothing Tozier.” She playfully punched his shoulder and shook her head.

“Hey!” he protested. “Remind me again, who got who coffee this morning?” He teased while returning the punch.

“Okay! Okay! Fine, you win. I’ll go get it myself, geez!” She held her hands up in surrender and got up from her spot. 

Richie leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

That was a month ago. Since then, he made it a point to frequently catch a glimpse of the man every chance he got. Which made for some very entertaining interactions the times Eddie was in talking distance. 

He’d learned very little from him so far, so that’s why he’d thought it best to bring him up to Bev. What a mistake that was. Richie frowned thinking about the interaction. 

He wasn’t dumb, he knew what everyone thought of Eddie. The nickname spoke for itself. But, he didn’t think it was that  _ unusual  _ to casually ask about him. He was wrong.

Bev had found it so bizarre, that she didn’t give a definite answer. Because she didn’t have one about Eddie.  _ She probably doesn’t even like him at all _ . 

Damn.

But, that’s not to say Richie would stop bugging about Eddie though. Nuh-uh.

He had a man ( _ with an ass you could bounce quarters off of, holy shit! _ ) he wanted to woo. And Bev bless her heart, was going to hear all about it.

Because it’s not like he can keep his big mouth shut about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we finally know how they met!
> 
> Thoughts?


	3. Fire Drill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A not-so normal day at the office brings an opportunity to play some games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some ideas were taken directly from The Office’s s2 ep4 “The Fire”. 
> 
> Enjoy xxx

Just a normal day at the office… until it wasn’t. 

Nothing exciting ever happened here at Dunder Mifflin— except for maybe the occasional birthday party and big sale made by either him or one of his co-workers— and Richie accepted that fact a long time ago.

Though on occasion, he wished something else would happen; something so out of the ordinary that would, of course, disturb the entire day. Or, in simple terms, something that would give him and Bev the opportunity for a longer smoke break. Ten minutes each was just no fun anymore. 

He’s a selfish bastard, he knows. 

But the higher beings must’ve listened to his prayers because something finally exciting did happen that turned their average Wednesday morning into a fun-filled afternoon hanging out with his co-workers.

And it came in the form of a fire drill.  _ How fucking perfect! _

He was in the middle of helping (or as she puts it—  _ disturbing _ ) Bev with her latest game of solitaire when the alarm blared loudly throughout the entire room. And despite what movies would like all their audiences to think, nobody panicked. Everyone merely grabbed their coats, him and Bev included, and went outside to wait it out.

Richie didn’t even know where the fire was. Or if there even was one. All he knew was that they had extra time to kill and that he was the  _ king  _ of wasting everyone’s time; something Bev lovingly said was a good thing going for him. He simply agreed. 

Because it was true.

Richie turned to his co-workers— all standing there spread out, with nothing to do and he took pity on them.  _ Oh, this was unacceptable.  _ He turned to Bev on his left and wiggled his eyebrows. The red head winked in response.

“Okay everybody! I have an announcement to make!” He placed two fingers at his lips and whistled loudly to get their attention. “This is very important so if you could just gather around me guys.” 

“What’s up, Tozier?” One of them, a man by the name of Teddy, piped up after they all made a loose circle around him.

“Nothing,” he paused for effect. “Well, except maybe your mom’s libido after she sees me.” Everyone around him snickered at the poor joke, while Teddy just rolled his eyes.

“You were saying, Richie,” Beverly nudged him.

“Right, thanks Bev. As I was saying before I suggested that all milf’s, especially Ted’s mom, want me; I was thinking that this was the perfect opportunity to play some games.” He finished with a flourish, crossing his arms against his chest and waiting for their reactions. 

They all readily agreed, no surprise there. 

“Alright then,” Richie excitedly rubbed his hands together. “We should start with ‘Desert Island’ and possibly cough  _ definitely  _ work our way towards ‘Who Would You Do’? and maybe—“

“‘Would You Rather’.” Cathy, a woman he was 89% sure was alive when Shakespeare was, spoke up. He and Bev shared a secret look.  _ Oookay then.  _

“‘Would You Rather’ it is. Okay so,” he clapped his hands. “Three movies on a desert island, babe.” He pointed towards Bev to start. 

“I guess  _ 16 Candles _ ,  _ Mamma Mia _ — obviously the first one, not the second— and,” Bev paused, turning to look at him with a gleam in her eyes, “ _ Legally Blonde _ .”  _ Oh, Bev… _

Richie mock gasped and placed a hand over his heart. “Fuck babe! How could you wound me so?!” 

Mindy, a twenty year old intern, spoke up, “Wait, what’s wrong with  _ Legally Blonde _ ?”

Richie palmed his face.  _ Oh lord…  _ “These are  _ desert island  _ movies! Movies that you will see for the rest of your life! You really want to spend the rest of your life watching that?” 

Beverly elbowed him in the stomach, which in turn, caused him to grunt out an  _ ‘ow!’ _ . “Stop whining! You just have bad taste in movies.” She defiantly crossed her arms. 

He rubbed his side and threw his other arm to rest on her shoulders. “Okay guys, let's move on before I say something else and she hurts me again.” That earned him another elbow jab and a laugh from his co-workers. 

The game entertained them for some time when they finally grew bored and turned to the main event, ‘Who Would You Do?’. Present company, included of course.

He smirked, thinking about the possible answers his co-workers would give.  _ I know who I would say _ — at that thought, he looked around to catch a glance of his favorite doe-eyed cutie. He spotted Eddie a little ways from them leaning against his car, playing with his phone.  _ Perfect. _

“Be right back,” he whispered to Bev, giving her a quick kiss to the cheek, and made his way over to Eddie.

He didn’t see Beverly staring back at him in confusion.

“Sup, Spaghetti Head.” He said, getting the other man’s attention.

Eddie looked up and scrunched his face adorably. “ _ Spaghett—?  _ You know what, I don’t even wanna know.” he rolled his eyes. “Just stop it with the nicknames. It’s just Eddie.” 

“Sorry Señor, no can do. Nicknames are a specialty of mine and fortunately for you, I have  _ many _ .” Richie grinned wide.

The smaller man glared up at him, “Screw you man.” 

_ Screw me yourself, you cowar— _

“Why are you here bothering me anyway?” Eddie asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Thought I’d be a perfect gentleman and invite you over,” pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “We’re in the middle of a very enticing game, wanna play?” 

“And why should I?” He raised a brow and bit his bottom lip.  _ Uhh. _

“Because you can’t deny me anything, Eds. Just admit it.” 

Richie knew the other man was fighting a smile. He saw his mouth briefly quirk up. The motherfucker wasn’t slick.

“In your dreams, Tozier.” Eddie walked past him, ending their conversation, and leading the way to Bev and the others. Richie raised his fist in triumph.  _ He didn’t—! _

“And don’t call me that!” He shouted over his shoulder.

_ So close. _

Less than a minute later, Richie reached the circle again, putting himself between Eddie and Bev. He didn’t notice the confused look Bev shot him. 

“Okay Tozier, your turn. Who would you do?” Teddy asked him and everyone looked to him, waiting for his answer. 

_ Should I? Why fucking not. _

“Oh, Kaspbrak definitely.” Richie deadpanned. 

Eddie’s head shot up in surprise. “Wait, what?” he squeaked out. Everybody around them hid their faces while they laughed. 

“What do you mean ‘what’?. Mrs. K is a fucking fox!” Richie exclaimed and everybody’s laughter grew louder.

Eddie glared at him, “Fuck you, bro. Fuck you.”

_ Fuck me yourself, you coward.  _ Richie winked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richie is bold™️, but we been knew ;)
> 
> Also for the record, I would 100% name Legally Blonde as one of my desert island movies lol.


	4. Tell Me Before I Combust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beverly has a very important question to ask Richie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re back to Beverly’s POV for this one. This is probably my favorite chapter so far because I love Richie & Beverly’s friendship so much! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

She needed answers now.

After the firemen had announced to them that there was a small accident on the 4th floor (one involving someone forgetting their pop tart in the kitchen’s toaster; Bev can practically hear the steam coming out of Eddie’s ears from a few feet away and just  _ knows _ the upcoming lecture he’ll give them tomorrow on  _ How to Correctly Use the Kitchen Appliances _ ), they all dispersed. The whole day had been taken up by the debacle and it was time to go home.

Beverly watched as every one of her co-workers headed to their cars before turning to Richie and holding up a cigarette, not needing to verbalize her silent question. He nodded and plucked it from her hand, heading to their usual spot, knowing she’ll be right on his heels digging for another cigarette in her pocket.

They both leaned against the wall and watched as everyone drove off. She waited until she only saw their cars left in the parking lot before she spoke.

“Okay, spit it out.”

Richie whipped his head to look in her direction. “Hmm?”

Beverly met his gaze straight on, taking a drag on her smoke. She wasn’t stupid. And she wasn’t blind. She saw the flush on his face the other day when talking about Mr. Grum— _ Eddie _ , so she knew her friend wasn’t telling her something. It wasn’t hard to guess what that something might be. But that’s all that was, just a guess. She didn’t know for sure and she certainly wasn’t gonna be the one to bring it up to him, putting herself up for embarrassment if she happened to be wrong.

But that was before today. Today changed everything. She knew she hit it right on the nose that Richie had a thing for Eddie. Watching her friend casually (and constantly;  _ jesus Richie, let the man breathe _ ) flirt with the oblivious man in question had confirmed all her suspicions. If she had a nickel for every time she saw Richie wink at Eddie… 

She blew out the smoke and smiled. “You think you’re slick? I saw you today and I gotta say, you’re not that subtle, Rich.”

He leaned his left shoulder on the wall, fully facing her now. “Not that subtle at what, Miss Marsh?” he questioned. “Oh, and nice rhyming by the way.” Richie gave her a thumbs up. 

“Shush!” she rolled her eyes and elbowed him. “And you mister, better stop being dense.”

Richie threw his hands up in mock frustration, “Stop being cryptic then!”

She huffed and put out her cigarette.  _ I’m getting nowhere with this.  _ The urge to pout was strong.  _ Just spit it out already! _

“Do you have a thing for Eddie?” There; she finally asked him.  _ Now if Richie would stop being so difficult and ans— _

“Nope,” his straight answer cut through her thoughts. 

_ What?! Oh, fuck…  _

Beverly felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.  _ Shit.  _ “Oh, I must have misunde—“

“Yeah, no. I’m in love with him,” Richie nodded enthusiastically. Beverly’s eyes widened. “Why do you ask?”

“ _ Why do I— _ ? What do you mean you’re in love with him? And hey!” She paused, slapping his shoulder, “How can you not tell me—your  _ best friend _ in the entire world—that you’re in love?! Holy crap Richie!” She leaned up to hug him tightly, feeling his strong arms wrapped securely around her in response. Richie laughed as they separated a few seconds later.

“I’m telling you now! And  _ wow _ , you think very highly of yourself for someone that I’ve barely known for two months…” He teased.

“Rich…” Richie’s eyes widened, seeing her hand raise up as a warning for the slap that was surely going to come his way. He batted her hand away.

“Okay stop! Put that hand down Marsh or I won’t tell you!” Beverly rolled her eyes but complied nonetheless. 

“First, of course you’re my best friend,” He quickly leaned down to peck her on the cheek. Beverly beamed in response. “And second, I tried telling you the other day but you just kept on asking questions! You really hurt this poor, old man’s heart babe.” He pouted, placing his hands over his heart. 

_ Drama queen.  _ “Look, I’m sorry I gave you a semi-hard time the other day—don’t say  _ anything _ !” She held up her finger in warning. Richie merely zipped his lips in reply. “You just caught me off guard that’s all.”

“Yeah, I know that now Bev.” Richie then frowned. “Believe me, I know why too,” he finished softly.

Beverly momentarily deflated at that. Eddie’s reputation among them was nothing positive in the office. Practically everybody has said something snide about him behind his back. The fact that he worked in the annex, away from them all, made it very easy to do so.

She never participated though. Sure, she dreaded sitting through his presentations as much as the next person, but that was his job. If he wasn’t going to do it, then corporate would send someone down from H.R. and replace him.

She didn’t think much about Eddie. She couldn’t, she barely knew him. They were just acquaintances at the end of the long workday.  _ But that was going to change _ , she quickly decided.

She smirked, “Tell me all about him Rich.”

Richie visibly brightened. “You know that day you sent me back to the annex for those files…”

Beverly watched her best friend’s excited face and her heart swelled in response. She would do  _ anything _ for Richie Tozier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive responses so far!
> 
> Don’t be afraid to leave a comment or kudos if you liked it xxx

**Author's Note:**

> Would love to read what you think :)


End file.
